26 connections
by Madhumalati
Summary: A 100 word drabble for each letter of the alphabet. Shounen ai, HK, obviously. Z is for Zinnia: truths are faced, an offer is made, very few sentences are completed and a friendship begins.
1. Adrenalin

_**Twenty-six connections**_

_**A is for Adrenalin**_

It was just an adrenalin rush, Hiei assured himself.

After all, they'd just waltzed into the most heavily guarded vaults of the Reikai with relative ease – not surprising, that idiot had the worst security system in all three worlds – and got right out with what they'd wanted. They'd been high on the thrill, the triumph.

His smile was exquisite, and filled with the wisdom of the dying. When Kurama kissed him, he tasted of excitement, fear and hopelessness, and he had clutched Hiei's cloak as if he were falling.

And if Hiei had responded, that was but a momentary madness.

A/N: these drabbles may cross genres, and there is no hint of a storyline. Some pre-series, some during and some after. Dedicated to the reviewers of Indignation. Next: B for Battle.


	2. Burn

_**B is for Burn**_

It was more a battle of wills than a confession of love, Hiei thought later.

'I'm fire. I'm forbidden. You know you'll only burn yourself if you insist on getting closer.'

The arrogance of his certainty was stark. 'I am the master of my destiny. If I'm burnt, that is my decision. Not yours.'

Hiei's eyes narrowed. 'You already know my answer.'

'Yes.'

'Don't you realise,' he spat. 'I'm only trying to spare you.'

Kurama smiled thinly. 'Do you love me or not? Nothing else matters.'

'Yes,' Hiei hissed and pulled him into a kiss.

There were many ways to burn.

A/N: ahem. I changed my mind about the topic. Anyway. No reviews!! Where have you gone, my faithful? And update patterns are as always for my drabbles: seven days or three reviews, whichever is earlier. It gives me time to write properly. Some of these stories will follow a tentative storyline (which I've just kicked the hell out of by posting the 'last' story first. I'll give a full list with the last drabble, but it should be easy to guess.


	3. Colour

**_C is for Colour_**

They are black and white.

White. The colour of purity, truth, arrogance. Kurama wears white, dazzling and untouched, emphasising both his beauty and his distance.

Black. The colour of death, mourning and taint. Hiei wears black, shrouding himself, displaying his nature and defying his enemies.

Together, they are somewhere in between. Killers, thieves, ruthless, mercenary – and loyal, courageous, protective, selfless when they love. Too complex for most to understand, they fit with each other perfectly; there is little ambiguity. Understanding the other is as hard or as easy as understanding themselves.

They are, after all, the same shade of grey.

A/N: it's nice to know people are reading...with thanks to greenmeat (whom I sadly cannot thank in person - I love your reviews!), BubblyFerryGirl and ibanquet.


	4. Defiance

_**D is for Defiance**_

Hiei is synonymous with defiance to Kurama. Proud, strong and bold, alone in the worlds. He throws his hard-won successes in his enemies' facec, his statement to the the universe: _I have worth. I have strength. I will triumph. And I will never give in. _It makes Kurama want to shower him with the love he never had, the companionship, respect, affection and understanding he craves.

But Hiei's journey is incomplete. Until he proves himself to his hardest critic – himself – he will see those emotions as pity for the weak, and will not permit reciprocation. This he knows, and he waits.

A/N: where's the love?


	5. Expect

_**E is for Expect**_

They never hold back. It may be only a practice session, but they throw their all into it, fire and sword, plants and flashing fists; fight as if they hated, as if they were in mortal danger. Each blow is deadly, each could kill. Each is blocked, with effort and grace. It's a deadly dance, like playing physical chess, but years of practice allow them to anticipate moves and strategies perfectly. Neither worries about the other's safety; after all, they expect no less than for their every thought to be expected, catalogued and countered. That is understanding - and love.

A/N: this drabble series is dedicated to greenmeat - I wish I could thank you for the reviews personally, but this will have to do. As promised: updated early because I got three reviews. Thanks, guys!


	6. Flower

_**F is for Flower**_

_Roses have thorns_, Kurama had pointed out once;he found himself remembering that now, stunned, as the sword slid smoothly through Kurama's stomach.

Delicate as a flower; brilliant hair, pale creamy skin, those deep emerald eyes, bitter, determined smile; eyes conveying a perverse apology. Exquisite, he was, ethereal, captured so perfectly on the edge of death. In that moment, he was the most beautiful thing Hiei had ever seen, and his sword stopped instinctively before travelling that last fatal inch.

Then Kurama's hand flicked up, red blood-flowers blossomed in his vision, and the rage returned.

But the moment was not forgotten.

A/N: just in case (because I remember times when I would have been grateful for the pointers) this is set directly during the Shadow Sword retrieval, when Kurama takes Hiei's sword in the stomach for Yusuke, and then blinds him with his own blood.


	7. Grow

_**G is for Grow**_

'Are you still going to fight Yusuke?'

'Hn.'

'Then why did you saved his life when we were in Suzaku's castle?'

'I can't fight him if he's dead,' Hiei said reasonably.

Kurama began to laugh. 'Hiei, you're such a petulant child.'

Hiei growled.

'You have to know when to let go of a grudge. Win, lose, it makes no difference. You respect someone, it's irrelevant which side you were on before.' Just to be infuriating, he patted Hiei's head. 'Don't worry. You'll get it when you grow older.'

Hiei looked thoughtful before he batted Kurama's hand away irritably. 'Stupid senile fox.'

A/N: set somewhere between the Four Saint Beasts arc and the Dark Tournament. Next: H for Holiday: in which it is proved that Kurama is irredeemably criminal, and downright sneaky. Thanks to all my reviewers!

By the way, I don't know if I've already mentioned this, but most drabbles are set during the series and five or six are unconnected. There will be a timeline added to the last drabble to make things easier to get.


	8. Holiday

_**H is for Holiday**_

_Live a little,_ Kurama had said, giving him puppy eyes, and they'd gone on 'holiday' before Hiei returned to Alaric and work. Apparently, Kurama's idea of a holiday was being chased through jungles by angry youkai while carrying shiny things he didn't own. And Hiei was already AWOL……five days now.

'Mukuro's going to kill me,' he complained.

Kurama laughed. 'It's fun, isn't it…… pulling two jobs at once……'

'Two?'

'I've stolen you away, too,' Kurama wheezed, grinning wickedly. 'And a pretty thing you are……'

'_Pretty thing?!_'

'Best steal of my life.' Dazzling. Deadly. Irresistible……'Run away with me?'

And stupid. 'I already _have_, idiot!'

'True, true.'

A/N: Next is I for Intoxication. In which Hiei gets sloshed and Kurama makes a surprising discovery.


	9. Intoxication

_**I is for Intoxication**_

They were drunk, utterly and totally trashed, on some Makai liquor Hiei had brought, when Kurama discovered Hiei could sing. His smooth dark voice was as commanding as any professional's. Granted, he was currently singing an incredibly off-colour ditty, but he somehow lent it an air of dignity. This was a hard task when he was rendering a perverted version of 'Hey Diddle Diddle', but Hiei, who was sober and restrained in all things, succeeded admirably.

If Kurama giggled now, they'd be finding tiny pieces of him on all three worlds.

Well, he had always prided himself on his self-discipline.

A/N: have I ever mentioned that I love Hiei's voice? Anyway. Next: J is for Job: in which a plot hole is neatly filled, and Kurama proves that he is an untrustworthy employee.


	10. Job

_**J is for Job**_

'You're sure about this,' Hiei said in a flat tone.

'Of course I am.'

'Tarukane,' the jaganshi said flatly. 'He'll die. Slowly.'

'I'll keep the toddler thinking you don't know yet, gain you some time. He actually trusts me. Isn't that hilarious?'

'Hn. You, fox, have a low and devious mind.'

'I know.' Kurama smirked evilly.

'Hn.' Hiei hesitated on the verge of flickering away. 'Fox.'

'What?'

'……thank you.'

Kurama's eyes twinkled, pleased. 'Just my job. All in a day's work for the mastermind, right?'

'Your modesty is touching.' But Hiei was smiling too, before he left. Just a little, mind.

A/N: if Tarukane was blocking the Jagan, how else would Hiei have got to know? Not Yusuke or Kuwabara, that's for sure.


	11. Kodak

_**K is for Kodak**_

'Smile!' Kurama chirped and clicked.

Hiei scowled.

'Come on, Hiei, this isn't all that bad, is it?'

'I would rather,' he said with heavy emphasis, 'rot in hell. Almost.'

'But you look so pretty!' Kurama wailed.

'I feel a desperate need to murder something.'

'I won fair and square.' Kurama's finger wagged reproachfully. 'Don't be a sore loser.'

'I didn't think I'd be doing……this.' _This_ being an amusement park, filled with……Botan-ish humans. The gesture encompassed the tight jeans and wine-red tank-top Hiei was wearing.

'You really do like me,' Kurama said, mildly stunned.

Hiei arched an eyebrow.

'I'm not dead.'

'Hn. Yet.'

A/N: Maybe I should call this 26 anecdotes of Evil!Kurama instead of 26 connections. Oh well. I leave the details of the bet to your imagination. Next: L is for Legend: in which Hiei thinks about Kurama, and how things change.


	12. Legend

_**L is for Legend**_

He knew of him before he met him. He grew up with bandits; of course there were stories of Youko Kurama, the cold and ruthless silver fox, whispered around the campfire. He didn't quite know what he would really be like, but a redhead with big, sad emerald eyes and a bit of an Oedipus complex certainly wasn't what he had expected. It was disorienting, to say the least. Legends were supposed to stay the same. They weren't supposed to change species, lifestyle and morality.

Then again, Hiei thought, Kurama always broke the rules. It was almost instinctive for him.

A/N: next: M is for Mischief: does this really need explaining?

Greenmeat: I think the adjective most often applied to Botan by Hiei is _stupid_.


	13. Mischief

_**M is for Mischief**_

'Here. Something for you.'

Kurama caught the packet and opened it. A dull seed lay inside. His eyes widened. 'Oh, Hiei! I've been looking for this forever!'

A burst of ki, and the seed blossomed into a small bush with deep red flowers. A heavy summery scent filled the room, and he sniffed appreciatively.

'You've been chattering about it for months. This should shut you up.'

A mischievous smile played on the fox's mouth. 'Why Hiei, I never thought you were the type who bought flowers. It's almost sweet.'

Listening to Hiei stammer denials and blush furiously was deeply satisfying.

A/N: oh my, so many reviews in one day! Whee! Ahem. This is one of the last 'funny' ones; it takes a decidedly darker/angstier turn after N through to V. More canon stuff and all. Thanks to my reviewers. Next: N is for Nurse - set directly after Two Shots, which should tell you enough. Anime-only readers beware.


	14. Nurse

_**N is for Nurse**_

Kurama stared at Hiei, curled in his bed, asleep.

They should have parted after killing Yatsude; their aims had been achieved. He should have left Hiei, not offered him a place to stay, food, warmth, shelter. Hiei was a link to his past. His presence was reminder and invitation; a catalyst to Youko's return.

He'd named himself Kurama again this evening. It felt right to be called that; to bear that name again. Hiei had unlocked something within him, changed something, and it was uncomfortable.

Kurama shivered in foreboding.

He couldn't shake the feeling he was nursing his own death.

A/N: and what a good premonition, since without Hiei Kurama probably wouldn't have gone after the Forlorn Hope.

Next: O is for Outcast: set during the Dark Tournament. Where Kurama has an unexpected insight into Hiei's life.

Greenmeat: In the dub, Hiei threatens to damage Kurama's skin when the fox asks him to play cards. In the original, I think he says he'll damage his voice-box. Unsure. But yes, he gets pissed so easily and it's obvious Kurama likes doing that to him . Rayne: my angst isn't angst; unfortunately, I can't help being amused by angst and so it never quite turns out sober and grim….ah, well.


	15. Outcast

_**O is for Outcast**_

'I can feel the love,' Kurama said wryly.

The crowd roared again as Chuu landed another blow, and Yusuke staggered.

'Makes me all fuzzy inside,' Hiei grunted.

'I've been respected.' Kurama's eyes were distant. 'Feared. Admired. Even loved. Never this –this anger and disgust. I wonder, am I truly a traitor?'

'They'd turn their backs on us even if we joined another team.'

Kurama's eyebrow quirked.

'We're outcast,' Hiei said grimly. 'The Forbidden Child and a half-human reincarnation – we're race traitors just by existing.'

'Outcast.' He tasted the word. It sounded bitter.

Hiei smiled – weary, hopeless. 'Welcome to my life.'

A/N: next: P is for Parting: the second time I'm dealing with the second-last episode of YYH. Don't worry, it gets happier.


	16. Parting

_**P is for Parting**_

There were too many words unspoken when they parted. They were careful to make no demands or confessions. Careful not to reveal anything. It was worse than when they'd been enemies.

_I can't take this,_ Kurama said, holding more than the gem in his hand, and Hiei recovered smoothly with _it wasn't for you_, and they both accepted the lie because it was easier that way. And when he said _that's the last time I ever ask you for help_, they both smiled mirthlessly, lifelessly at each other and walked away.

So much for forever. So much for happy endings.

* * *

A/N: Next: Q is for Quiet. It's funny how it can seem very quiet when someone's not there - even if he never spoke to begin with. Thanks to everyone who reviewed; keeping to my 3reviews/7days promise means daily updates!


	17. Quiet

_**Q is for Quiet.**_

It was too quiet in his room.

Hiei often sought shelter with Kurama; he never disturbed Hiei or asked too much of him. They spoke sometimes, quick banter or relaxed, casual conversation; but mostly they were quiet, Kurama doing his homework while Hiei watched; or they slept, Kurama on the bed, Hiei on the window. Sometimes they fought, friendly or not.

Hiei wasn't chatty at the best of times, but he made the silence bearable somehow, filled it with his presence, and wrapped him in soothing familiarity.

_It's too quiet_, Kurama thought, turned up the music and focused on homework.

A/N: This can be considered a direct sequel of the previous one, and R is the end of a mini-trilogy. Next: R is for Return: in which Hiei makes an unexpected appearance and Kurama realises the meaning of inevitability.


	18. Return

_**R is for Return**_

Seven years after the Makai tournament, he returned.

Rapping on the window, a familiar authoritative pattern. A black form, blurred in frosted glass and the promise of rain.

'Hiei,' Kurama said, somehow not surprised, and let him in.

'Took you long enough,' the jaganshi grumbled. 'You're growing soft. Didn't you sense me?'

Coiled against the window-sill. Sword tucked away. One elbow on his bent knee, the other leg dangling. Different window. Same Hiei.

'I wasn't expecting you, you know,' Kurama defended.

'Why not?' Hiei asked, unreadable.

'……I don't know.'

'Hn. You should have.'

'I guess so,' Kurama said, and smiled. 'Chocolate?'

A/N: next: S is for Stasis: in which Hiei ponders life while in the regeneration cell. What, practically no reviews for the last one? Hmm.


	19. Stasis

_**S is for Stasis**_

Caught in near-death sleep, dreams fragmented into reality, memories melded to desires.

A woman dropping him to his death. Another forcing breath back into his unwilling body. A boy who had turned from ally to enemy, and another who turned from enemy to ally. A man who had helped him, and then killed him.

Need roiled in him, and despair and weary hope. Answers he could not reach, questions he could not define. Love never quite found, family never accepted, emotions never given voice, purpose he'd never allowed himself. In one infinite – infinitesimal – moment, everything came together.

His eyes opened.

A/N: Next: T is for Truth; speculations on different words. Thanks to greenmeat for the reviews.


	20. Truth

_**T is for Truth**_

_Thief._ That is who they are, primarily; what drew them together.

_Traitor._ Betrayal is a part of their past; both from others and from each other.

_Tease._ Kurama teases him all the time; he pretends to dislike it.

_Tainted._ Hiei thinks he is; he won't believe he isn't.

_Talisman._ A proof of their own worth, a charm to hold up against the creeping darkness. It anchors them, gives them a goal to work towards.

_Target._ They don't take kindly to losing; even if the penalty is the loss of their own life.

_Together. _That is the secret of being complete.

A/N: thanks to Painted Walls for the review! Next: U is for Undisguised: it's a rare privilege to be allowed to see Kurama's real reactions, and they aren't always pretty……and greenmeat: you're right.


	21. Undisguised

_**U is for Undisguised**_

Expressive merald eyes were completely blank, no pain, no emotion, nothing. Careful deliberate stride, not a word spoken. Killing that child had brought out another side of him. The ruthless killer Hiei had rarely seen, the cold-blooded assassin, the one who loved his enemies' pain.

The fox wanted blood. Hiei didn't envy his next challenger.

'Kurama,' he said, too quiet for humans to hear.

'Hiei.' Flat acknowledgment. Kurama looked at him, knowing what he wanted, and his fury was for an instant undisguised. Expressed. Declared.

Accepted.

The jaganshi grinned in feral anticipation.

Someone was going to die, oh yes.

A/N: Set directly after Gamemaster's death; for those in doubt of his homicidal tendencies at that point, I present as proof what he did to Ani Toguro not fifteen minutes later. Like, ewww? Next: V is for Video Games: in which Kurama angsts, and Hiei is actually nice. Go figure.


	22. Video Games

_**V is for video games**_

When he awakened, Kurama was methodically wrecking his console with his bare hands. Shards scattered everywhere.

'Stop that.' Hiei gently trapped slender, trembling hands between his.

'I killed him.' Breathing in desperate gasps, his eyes stubbornly dry. 'I didn't think I……could……I kept waiting for myself to……stop, but I didn't.' Emerald darkened in self-loathing. 'I shouldn't have……let him die……killed him……'

'Then the tunnel would have opened.' He swept the red-tinted shards away, and Kurama collapsed against his chest, bloodied fists clutching, staining his cloak. 'And your mother would have died.'

'You unsympathetic asshole,' Kurama hissed, miserable and furious.

'Whatever helps,' Hiei said calmly, and held him closer.

* * *

A/N: Sorry for the delay. I did a lot of work on this one, hope it works! Next: W is for Whistle: in which a thorn in Hiei's side is removed, and it is conclusively proven that it is not, in fact, his birthday.


	23. Whistle

_**W is for Whistle**_

'Well, it was _meant_ to wake you up,' Kurama said sympathetically.

'It knocked me out!'

'So it did,' Kurama agreed soberly.

Hiei, sensing Kurama's amusement, subsided into giving him a dark glare. He could feel him waiting for him to say something, bubbling with hilarity.

'_What_?'

'Hiei?' he said, with just the right amount of bewilderment.

'Don't make me hurt you,' Hiei warned. 'I know you've got something up those ridiculous sleeves of yours. Out with it.'

Kurama grinned openly and tossed Hiei something. It was the whistle. 'Happy Birthday, Hiei.'

'It's not my birthday.' But Hiei smirked, pocketing it.

A/N: what, so few reviews? Well. Next: X is for Xerophyte: in which Kurama reflects that there are many different kinds of strength. Oh, and a special mention will be made for anyone who knows what a xerophyte is!


	24. Xerophyte

_**X is for Xerophyte**_

Hiei is a xerophyte. Hardy, determined and wild, living in intolerable conditions. Hiei struggled to attain everything Kurama took for granted. He suffered emotionally and physically; stubbornly survived things Kurama was unsure he could.

But Kurama is another kind of xerophyte, despite how easily life seems to go his way. To gain any emotion at all from Hiei had been difficult. Finding a place in his suspicious, hardened heart, arduous. Making him accept that truth – nearly impossible. But he doesn't mind. Because if Hiei's destiny is torment, Kurama's is victory. And in this most crucial battle, his desire will triumph.

A/N: xerophyte: plant living in arid conditions, such as cacti. Yes, I like geography. No, I am not insane. Really. Xiassen, Meihi.Hekiwarai, Suzy, greenmeat: congratulations on getting it! Next: Y is for Youko: why long, furry, twitchy, fuzzy, adorable ears can occasionally be a handicap.


	25. Youko

_**Y is for Youko**_

'So. You can transform without that potion now?'

'A side-effect of the tunnel,' Kurama smirked, flipping silver hair over a shoulder.

Hiei's head tilted, registering sharper angles, golden eyes. 'You know……you're not very different like this. Your features are the same, if not your colouring. Except the ears……'

Fingers twitched.

'Don't even think about it,' Kurama warned, panicked.

But Hiei was already stroking the silky fur, his hands caressing oh-so-perfectly. Kurama tried for righteous indignation, but he was already a puddle of warm pliant goo, leaning into Hiei like a puppy. He was _smiling_, the weasel, but oh, those fingers……

Damned canine instincts.

A/N: I've been wanting to write this since the first time I saw Youko's form – I swear my fingers were twitching – I'm a dog person, and those ears!

And so here we are, almost to the end. Also, 26 connections has broken the 100-review milestone – hyuu! (since I, like Fai, am pathetic at whistling). My thanks to everyone who has contributed to this – it's my first fic to hit three-digit reviews. Next: Z is for Zinnia: in which the end circles back to the beginning.


	26. Zinnia

_**Z is for Zinnia**_

'They're not in our league,' Hiei observed, eyeing the other youkai as he leaned nonchalantly against the ship's railing.

'Others will be.'

'Maybe,' Hiei agreed. 'The Dark Tournament attracts powerful youkai.'

'Hiei. If I don't–'

'I'll see to it.'

'And you?'

'It doesn't matter.' Hiei shrugged.

'I'd avenge you if you died,' Kurama admitted quietly. 'You're sort of a friend, you know.'

'Friends?' Hiei mused.

'Friends,' Kurama confirmed, smiling despite everything. 'I guess we're friends.'

'Hn. Fox……don't take this to mean I like you or anything.'

'Of course not,' Kurama agreed demurely. His eyes twinkled. 'Wouldn't dream of it.'

A/N: Set right before the battiness on board the ship to Hanging Neck Island. And the significance of zinnia is 'thoughts about friends' or 'friendship'. I think. Don't quote me. Anyway, I was out of ideas.

So, this is it. The end. Fin. It's been fun. Thanks to all my reviewers (in no particular order) greenmeat, Leikaru, BlueUtopiah, rayne (sorry about the reviews, ffnet is stupid occasionally), Anna Jaganshi, Xiassen, LeFoxy, BrokenRedWings, Thunder Ring, Annoying Little Twit, Zodiac Eclipse, LoversPastForgotten, Tsuki no Wish, Painted Walls, suzy, Everqueen, Clow Angel, Red Kitsune Flames, Kyohana, Sweet G, Kuramarulez, Aiieke……as well as anyone else who may have been accidentally missed. Phew, quite a list. Once again, thank you for reading; so long, and thanks for all the fish!


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